Eco-Friendly Diapers?

There are a lot of them on the market now -- G Diapers, Bummis, Tushies, Heavenly Organic Cloth Diapers and more. What are the pros & cons of each. One MBB member wrote:
"GDiapers...I see the obvious benefits to the environment, which is a MUST 4 me! but what, if any, drawbacks? are there any leakage possibilities? do the liners work well? I'm having my first son on 7-8-09 and I'm already looking into this important investment...any comments from those who use them? I'm gonna use them anyway probably, but I'd like to know if you've ever gotten a clogged toilet from one perhaps? ~Thanks!"

Replies to This Discussion

I use Knicker Nappies and love them. The sides feel slightly damp when they get really concentrated with urine, and I usually change them before that happens, but when it does I know it's time! They have four sets of snaps to move through as your baby grows as well as different sizes, small, medium and large.
At first I used a diaper service, but when I found out about all-in-one diapers, I thought it was the smartest thing to do to purchase them. Pay a one time payment on two dozen diapers, and never again! Children can wear them all the way up to potty-training time if you take care of them well. (use the correct kind of laundry detergent)
Ella seems to love them, the inside is fleece!
I would definitely encourage the purchase. Good for the environment, for sure, and good for the wallet.
Good luck! Hope this helps :)

I was completely committed to using cloth. I bought 2 Bummies kits and prepared them according to the instructions. My baby was too small to use them in the beginning. She was 6.4. My good friend bought us disposables. Well, I found that I really liked the disposables. Washing the cloth diapers wasnt an issue but it takes my newer dryer at least 2 cycles to dry them which drove me crazy. I also found that the bulk of the cloth diapers made it more challenging for my baby to move, like rolling over and sitting up. I got very sensitive to the chemicals in the regular disposable brands so bought some Seventh Generation diapers. I really like them, they are spendy but I watch for the sales and buy several packs. THey will also send some coupons if you call them. I am still hanging on to the large size box of bummies--just in case.
I also bought some hemp diapers from Germany--one size fits all---again, the bulk was way too much for my baby at the time. Now that she is bigger they might be better, I'll have to try them again.

I am in love with my cloth diapers.
I have many different brands:bum genious, knicker nappies, rumparooz, swaddle bees, bummis, kiss a luvs, and even a few gerber prefolds. you may want to invest in a package deal of mixed brands. not all diapers work the same on my baby as they would on yours. you gotta get a feel for what you are gonna like. some are very pricey so it is a big investment at first to get your stash to the size you want, but in the long run the savings are huge and the health benefits for your baby are great.
I switched from disposables because they were mess makers and we had constant blow out problems. now with cloth we only have a blow out maybe 1 out of 300 diaper changes, if at all.

I hope you find what you are looking for and it works for you and your baby. good luck

What you have to remember with the eco friendly disposables like 7th gen... if they wind up in a regular landfill it wont matter what they are made out of. It will still take for every to biodegrade because the conditions in a landfill are not optimal for decomposition.

Gdiapers are very pricey. The cost is a little more than regular sposies. I know moms who use their covers with reusable inserts though :)

We've used GDiapers with our two year old from day one and love, love, love them...

We had no leakage issues - I've heard of people who have, especially when baby is new new (we didn't have that issue mostly because she was 9lbs 6 oz at birth...

There's a learning curve with them, but once you get them down, they're super easy and a joy to use... and you can use the covers with a cloth insert (instead of the flushable) if you're feeling cloth-y.

The biggest downside to them, IMHO, is the cost. We pay about the same for the flushable inserts on a monthly basis as we would if we were using brand-name disposables (like Seventh Generation)... you absolutely do NOT get the $$ savings that you get with cloth.

We've used GDiapers with our two year old from day one and love, love, love them...

We had no leakage issues - I've heard of people who have, especially when baby is new new (we didn't have that issue mostly because she was 9lbs 6 oz at birth...

There's a learning curve with them, but once you get them down, they're super easy and a joy to use... and you can use the covers with a cloth insert (instead of the flushable) if you're feeling cloth-y.

The biggest downside to them, IMHO, is the cost. We pay about the same for the flushable inserts on a monthly basis as we would if we were using brand-name disposables (like Seventh Generation)... you absolutely do NOT get the $$ savings that you get with cloth.

Still, we love 'em!

to answer your question:

We don't flush all of her diapers. We compost the pee ones and only flush the poo ones. We live in a house that was built in the '60's, but we have low-ish flow toilets in it.

Maybe once a month we end up having to plunge the toilet. I can say that is almost always "user error" - we simply don't rip the thing enough, or swish it enough. We know almost immediately, pull out the plunger and have at it.

Hi, my name is Kim Graham-Nye and in the interest of full disclosure...my husband and I are the founders of gDiapers. I typically don't post when people are talking about diapers but I love what this site is about and want to be part of the community :0) So all I would say on the subject, is that diapers are no different than any other aspects of parenting...from birthing decisions, nursing, sleeping, slings/carriers, foods...you just have to figure out what works for your own family. Luckily there are great websites like this to help make it all a little easier!
Best of luck! Kim

I have been using g diapers since my daughter fit in them. The 1st size says its for 8-14lb babies but she fit in it at 7 pounds just fine. Here is what I think.

Pros:
Comfortable-They are super soft, not bulky at all and light so the bum can breath. Plus since the outer cloth part is thin it dries very quickly unlike some cloth diapering systems. I tried all in ones at first & it took almost 2 hours to dry them.
Easy- No soaking needed, when we do have to wash them I just throw them in with her other clothes. Also, since you flush the inside I can easily take them on the go with me, I just bring a wet bag in case she dirties the liner. Also, she rarely dirties the outside cloth part but pretty much every time she poops she gets the liner. They sell extra liners, definitely get a few extra!
Clean- she has never once had diaper rash, I have heard sometimes cloth diapers can breed bacteria that causes recurrent diaper rashes unless you wash them with bleach or boil them after every use.

I have also had no issues flushing the diapers and no leaks either.

Cons:
Only one, they are pricey, if you sign up with automatic shipping on their website you don't have to pay for shipping and they do regularly send me coupons for 20% off but its still expensive.

G diapers are cool. We have experienced some leaks with them when we were doing a trial with them. Personally, we love the Bum Genius one size. They are so easy and only leak if you leave them on waaaay too long. G diapers are expensive. You have to continue to replace the disposable part.

My daughter is 2 years and 1 month old and we've used cloth from day one. We use a combination of pocket diaper brands, my favorite being Fuzzy Bunz and Wonderoos. We have lots of Bum Genius 1 Size which I like for function but the velcro is pretty worn out.

Do CD's leak? Sometimes. We use hemp doublers for night time. Are they bulkier than disposable? Yes. But it's not a big deal to me. We never run out of diapers and we never have to buy them again. Right now a good friend is using our small diapers so that's even fewer diapers people have to buy. We are lucky here that we have a diaper store where you can get lots of advice and even buy used diapers. I got almost all of ours from the clearance or used bin as well as some from Craigs List.

As far as dryer time, this hasn't been an issue for us at all. If it's nice, they are hung outside--they dry within a couple of hours. If not, they go in the dryer on low (our dryer is really hot) for 20 minutes. I then pull out the covers which are dry. I dry the microfiber inserts for another 15 mins and they're good to go. the hemp liners do take longer and I usually just lay them over the edge of the tub. On days when we're in a hurry, I just dump everything in the dryer for 40 mins and they're fine. Word of warning. When you open the hot dryer--it may smell bad but when the diapers cool they're fine.

Washing? I use a tiny amount of Allen's Natural--maybe a tablespoon for my front loader. First I do 2 cold rinses and one hot wash with an extra rinse. I'd say every 10 days or so I give them a second cold wash because the soap builds up causing some mild stinkiness. I will say that when it comes to diapers I wish I had a top loading washer. I do have to add water to the cycle to feel like they get really clean.

Sorry--long winded post. I love my cloth diapers and feel good about using them so I'm happy to share any other info you might need.